Battle praised the emergency response to the shooting and acknowledged the deep grief it's brought on for those affected. All rights reserved. Hallie was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, lead pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to a statement fromhis former church in Dallas. We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren't turned into prisons. Police initially identified the shooter as a female, but later said Hale was assigned female at birth and identified as a transgender man. Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department released a list of items belonging to the shooter, including two shotguns, cellphones and laptops, as well as a suicide note, three folders and 19 journals. NASHVILLE, Tennessee, March 27 (Reuters) - A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers on Monday at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police killed the assailant, authorities said. Drake said the attacker did not appear to be targeting anyone specifically at the school, where Halehad been a student. "I would say that under extreme circumstances, they went above and beyond," said McGhee, who trains defense tactics and gun safety. Metro Nashville police said Monday afternoon Audrey Hale fired 152 total rounds, 126 from a rifle and 26 nine millimeter rounds from a pistol they carried in the mass shooting. Police said the suspect was armed with two assault-type guns and a 9 mm pistol. We will respond with resilience to these events, but we are called to be a little more intentional and specific in how we cope with them, Gorter said. "Like many of you, Ive experienced tragedy in my own life, and Ive experienced the day after that tragedy. Celebrating Childhood.". Deon J. Hampton is a national reporter for NBC News. As a public service, The Tennessean has made this content free. Rausch declined several interview requests from NBC News. Who are the Nashville officers who killed the Covenant School shooting suspect? Surveillance video shows him carrying and aiming an assault rifle as he walks hallways. We love the Scruggs family and mourn with them over their precious daughter Hallie," Mark Davis, senior pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, said in a statement. Hale walks in hallways and aims the assault rifle before the video cuts off. Nashville mourns after deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School Balloons, stuffed animals, notes and candles also lined the wall. Hale attended Covenant, a pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade private school, at around 10 years old, a former headmaster said. "My heart aches," she said. Nashville Fire Department Station 20, a station that responded to the shooting, has 14 Thanksgiving Day cards in the station's windows that personnel said were brought last fall by Covenant School students, who often brought snacks and different treats. One woman dropped to her knees as she laid a bouquet of flowers down, burying her head in her hands and wiping tears from her eyes. deadly shooting rampage at a local Christian elementary school, Officers Engelbert, Collazo seen in body cam video hailed as heroes: Nashville school shooting live updates, Tennessee Gov. According to Drake, the parents of Audrey Hale the 28-year-old transgender man police have identified as the shooter told officers they didn't think their grown child should own weapons. A verified GoFundMe fundraiser to support the family of Mike Hill, The Covenant School custodian who was killed in Monday's shooting, has surpassed $150,000 in money raised, according to the website as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. The motive was not immediately known, but the suspect had drawn detailed maps of the school, including entry points for the building, and left behind a "manifesto" and other writings that investigators were examining, Police Chief John Drake told reporters. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said on Twitter that her office stands "ready to assist" those affected by the shooting. The children started their morning in their cute little uniforms, they probably had some Froot Loops and now their whole lives changed today.. Neither of the two officers who fired on the shooter, Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, had been in a similar situation, MNPD chief John Drake said Tuesday. "I doubt that there's anyone you can talk to who would even be able to answer why. There are pieces to this whole story that we dont know and I dont know if it will ever give us closure or answers.. In the chaotic hours after the shooting, scores of parents gathered at Woodmont Baptist Church to reunite with their children. Biden repeats his call for meaningful gun control reform, the K-12 School Shooting Database resource, Three children and three adults killed in attack, Police killed attacker, 28, a former student. The White House later said the president spoke to Tennessee Gov. "That reunification work is really gospel work that we were honored to be a part of Gods plan in that moment.". Read more here. The Tuesday night prayer vigil in Mt. "I pray God keeps and covers you. Addressing an early evening news conference, Drake said police were working on a theory about what may have precipitated the shooting and would "put that out as soon as we can." The attacker, identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, was a former student at The Covenant School who broke in Monday morning by shooting the glass from a door. Drake said the officers were trying to decompress the day after the shooting. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place., Draketold NBC News that Hale might have had"some resentment for having to go to that school.". Nashville shooting: Shooter Audrey Hale sent Instagram DMs Three children and two adults were takento Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt with gunshot wounds, and all fivewere pronounced dead there, said Craig Boerner, spokesperson forVanderbilt University Medical Center. Nashville school shooter fired 152 rounds, planned and studied other shootings for months, police say. When I heard the news on April 3, my first thought was of the traffic. On a given day, slightly over 200students and 42 staff members are at the school, Aaron said. "I am truly without words and our children deserve better," she said. The assault also marks the 89th shooting on K-12 school grounds in 2023 an average of one every day according to theK-12 School Shooting Database. Nashville shooting latest news: 911 caller says Covenant staff were armed Drake later said one of the children was 8 and about to turn 9 but did not specify who. Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed sympathy for the victims and wrote on social media that his city "joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting.". Nashville school shooting: 6 killed including 3 students - Fox News Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. President Joe Biden spoke with reporters Tuesday and again pleaded for Congress to act on gun reform, one day after three children and three adults were killed in a school shooting in Nashville. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Hale entered the Covenant school with an AR-style rifle, anAR-style pistol and another handgun, police said. Senators, Mayor John Cooper, and MNPD chief John Drake. It is known that Hale considered the actions of other mass murderers, the release said. The shooting happened in a lobby-type area and not in a classroom per se, Aaron said. Nashville Shooting Police Say Shooter Was Under Doctor's Care for David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. The massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville was the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country that has grown increasingly unnerved . ARMED CONGRESSMAN: Andy Ogles, GOP congressman representing Nashville, criticized for posing with guns in family Christmas photo. Folks just need to be patient., He added that he has concerns about releasing the writings out of fear that someone else with a mental illness picks it up and uses it as a plan. In contrast to the painfully delayed police response to the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, last year, law enforcement officers in Nashville took quickaction Monday, likely saving several lives. A few people trickled in to lay flowers against the stone wall where the memorial was set up. ", "My heart goes out to the families of the victims," Cooper said. In an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday, Metro Nashville police chief John Drake said there were other targets, including a mall, outlined in materials obtained at Hale's residence following Monday's shooting. Authorities said Hale identified as a transgender person and was assigned female at birth, according to court records. A shooting at a private religious grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, left three adults and three 9-year-olds dead on March 27. In 2020, guns overtook auto accidents as the leading cause of death among children and teens. At this point, I think the metro police department is backing off with making any judgments or assumptions on the manifesto and leaning on TBI and the FBI, he said, adding that overall, the police have done a good job of investigating. But Peak never arrived home on Monday.